Several upcoming lectures in NYC will feature prominent members of the SVA community. On SVA’s campus, the MFA Art Criticism and Writing Department presents Why Artists Dislike Critics, a talk by art critic and faculty member Donald Kuspit. The lecture will take place Tuesday, October 10, 7pm, in the Amphitheater, 209 East 23rd Street, 3rd floor. Admission is free and open to the public. The same evening at 8pm, faculty member Gary Panter will take part (along with Simpsons creator Matt Groening) in the Comic Conversations series at The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue, as part of the “Masters of American Comics” exhibition, running through Sunday, January 28, 2007; the series of talks also includes this year’s Masters Series Award honoree Jules Feiffer, who is part of The Golden Age of Comics panel on Thursday, November 2, 6:30pm. Visit www.thejewishmuseum.org for ticket information.

The Whitney Museum of American Art is hosting alumnus Lorna Simpson (BFA 1982 Photography), who will be delivering the museum’s third Walter Annenberg Annual Lecture on Thursday, October 19, at 7pm. The lecture series was established to advance this country’s understanding of its art and culture. Simpson, whose elegant and evocative photographs investigate conventional views about identity, culture, history and memory, will speak about her work in conversation with Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director. Admission is free, but registration is required. To reserve a seat, call 212.570.7715, or e-mail [email protected]. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Image: Gary Panter, drawing for “Jimbo is Stepping off the Edge of a Cliff!” from Jimbo, c. 1988. Collection of the artist; reproduced with permission of the artist.